Experimental Study on the Mechanism of Yarlung Tsangpo River Bank Slope Instability Induced by Reservoir Water Level Fluctuation Based on Point Cloud and Image Processing
To investigate the progressive deformation and failure characteristics of accumulation-layer bank slopes under conditions of rapid reservoir drawdown, physical model tests were conducted using a typical accumulation-layer bank slope along the Yarlung Tsangpo River as a prototype. To comprehensively analyze the surface deformation and crack evolution processes of the bank slope, a close-range photogrammetric automatic data acquisition system was developed, and an M3C2 point-cloud comparison algorithm was employed to obtain the normal displacements of the slope surface at different monitoring stages. Moreover, ImageJ was used to extract the proportion of crack area, the number of effective connected components, and the average connected-component area. The results show that, as the reservoir water level declined, areas of high deformation on the slope surface gradually expanded from the slope toe and the water-facing side toward the middle and rear parts of the slope. The model bank slope exhibits progressive failure characteristics, evolving a transition from localized deformation to global sliding. The M3C2 statistical results indicate that the weighted standard deviation of normal displacement generally increased from 6.79 mm to 74.60 mm.In comparison,the width of the P5–P95 displacement interval generally increased from 14.88 mm to 247.59 mm, with the spatial dispersion of displacement increasing most significantly during the stage of intensifying instability. From the initial drop in water level to the onset of instability, the crack area ratio generally increased from 3.760% to 11.168%; however, the number of effective connected components generally decreased and the average connected-component area increased significantly, indicating that surface cracks evolved from a fine and dispersed state toward expansion, coalescence, and breakthrough. The M3C2 deformation indicators and image-based crack indicators show a good correspondence in terms of stage-wise changes. A combined analysis of the two can identify the progressive failure process of the bank slope from the perspectives of overall deformation and surface fracturing.
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